Colombia’s foreign minister, Rosa Villavicencio, has renounced her US visa in protest at the US State Department’s decision to revoke the visa of President Gustavo Petro. The move, announced by the Colombian government on Monday, highlights escalating tensions between the two nations.
Disagreements over drug policy, the ongoing conflict in Gaza, and a US naval build-up in neighbouring Venezuela are contributing to the diplomatic strain. While Colombia’s Foreign Affairs Ministry did not specify the type of visa Villavicencio held, it issued a statement asserting it was not interested in “diplomatic visas that limit opinions” or curtail the nation’s “sovereignty.”
The U.S. State Department revoked President Petro’s visa on Friday after he participated in a New York protest against the war in Gaza, in which Petro called for the creation of an international army to liberate the West Bank and the Gaza Strip.
Holding a megaphone and wearing a keffiyeh, the traditional Palestinian scarf, Petro called on U.S. soldiers to “disobey” President Donald Trump’s orders, adding that they should “not point their rifles against humanity.
Hours after the protest the department said on social media that it would cancel Petro’s visa “due to his reckless and incendiary actions.”
Petro was back in Colombia when the announcement was made, after having spent several days in New York attending the U.N. General Assembly. He wrote on X that he “didn’t care” about the punishment because he is also an Italian citizen, and could possibly travel to the U.S without a visa.
The revocation of Petro’s visa marks a new low in the leftist leader’s relation with the Trump administration, which earlier this month placed Colombia on a list of countries that it says are not fulfilling their international commitments to curb drug trafficking.
David Hart, an immigration attorney based in Miami, said that it is very rare for non-immigrant visa holders — such as those with tourist or diplomatic visas — to renounce their travel permit.
He said that people who do not want to travel to the U.S. can simply let their visas expire and then choose to not renew them.
“They are doing this for the media and to show solidarity” with Petro, Hart said of the foreign minister’s efforts to renounce her visa.
Wilfredo Allen, an immigration attorney from Miami, said that there is no formal procedure for quitting on a non-immigrant visa. He added that Colombia’s foreign affairs minister will likely have to send a letter to the U.S. embassy seeking the cancellation of her travel permit.
“If you don’t want to travel to the U.S. you can simply choose not to come,” Allen said. “I had never seen someone take their time to renounce a non-immigrant visa.”
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